Two Children, Two Murders, Two Reactions : Illinois: A white boy’s disappearance and death riveted the region. But a black girl’s killing was hardly noticed. Kankakee police chief calls on community to remedy the racism and indifference.

He was a white 10-year-old boy who disappeared from a riverbank. She was a black 13-year-old girl suspected of running away from home.

Different race, different families, same fate: Both ended up on the police blotter as young murder victims.

Christopher Meyer’s case riveted the region for two weeks, prompting an extensive search and relentless news coverage. Ophelia Williams’ death barely raised a cry.

In a candid assessment, Police Chief William Doster said his community is simply “numb” when it comes to black victims.

“I’m not trying to point fingers or diminish Chris’ death,” Doster, who is white, said in an interview. “I’m trying to energize the community. . . . The community as a whole forgot Ophelia.”

The police chief put his thoughts on paper Aug. 22, the same day a throng of media chronicled Christopher’s burial. Kankakee’s newspaper, The Daily Journal, published Doster’s essay last Sunday in this town of 27,000 people, 37% of them black.

Doster said the blame must be shared by residents, the news media, even his own department.

“Christopher was white, and Ophelia was black. That, in itself, is enough reason for shame. But in a broad sense, this racism has brought about in the community a more tragic attitude--indifference,” Doster wrote.

“The disease of racism has brought about the cancer of indifference. Indifference is exhibited in the entire community, both black and white, and is characterized by an unwillingness to become involved in the problem and not contribute to its solution.”

Christopher was abducted Aug. 7 while playing at the boat launch in Aroma Park, a small community where he spent summer months living with his mother.

Investigators, divers, police dogs and volunteers searched the Kankakee River and a nearby park. Eight days after the boy’s disappearance, his body was discovered in a shallow grave. He had been stabbed more than 40 times.

Chicago TV news crews traveled 70 miles to cover the story around the clock, parking their trucks and huge satellite dishes outside the courthouse.

There also was another stunning part of Christopher’s tragedy: The alleged kidnaper, Timothy Buss, had served time for murder and was released from prison two years ago.

Ophelia lived with her mother, Regina Collins. The girl was reported as a runaway March 28, a day before her 13th birthday. A few days after she disappeared, her body was discovered in a burning garage in Kankakee. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed, and her body had been set afire.

“The firefighters had only found the body as they sifted through the debris for additional hot spots,” Doster said.

There have been no arrests while police await results of tests on evidence. The sheriff’s department was inundated with calls after Christopher’s abduction, but Doster said he has not received any tips on Ophelia’s killer.

“She had been telling people she couldn’t stand it at home; there were too many people in and out,” said Ophelia’s grandmother, who lives 17 miles away in Hopkins Park and has the same name. “She was going to run away to my house. She didn’t make it.”

Ophelia’s story didn’t make any TV newscasts. The Daily Journal wrote three brief stories about her death. On the day the body’s identity was reported, the demise of Whitey, a blind horse, got more ink.

The Associated Press has covered Christopher’s case but did not report on Ophelia’s.

“The community reaction, more than the circumstances of the crime, brought the case to our attention,” said Sue Cross, AP’s assistant chief of bureau for Illinois, “and our coverage was largely influenced by that.”

Daily Journal news editor Raymond Bachar acknowledged that his paper’s coverage of the cases appears unbalanced. But he said Christopher’s disappearance had different elements, such as a public search for the boy and the alleged role of a convicted killer.

“I don’t think the paper has done enough with many of those cases,” he said, referring to black crime victims. “Part of the problem is the paper. Part is the community. We run into suspicion, possibly reverse bias, and the syndrome of the closed mouth.

“We tend to become blase to problems in the black community,” Bachar said. “We tend to take them for granted.”

Doster said attitudes throughout Kankakee must change. He noted the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old man during a basketball game in July in front of 400 people. A man was recently indicted, but only after one witness was willing to step forward.

“Many people are just afraid,” said the Rev. William Copeland of Morning Star Baptist Church. “They figure if they tell what they know sometimes, it will be their own death. . . . But I’m in total agreement with the chief.”

Doster said he will take his message to area churches.

“I’m prepared to hear people say I’m not right,” he said. “But that’s the way it plays to me right now. We have a community that is numb and accepting. We don’t have to be accepting of crime.”